Portuguese National Tourist Office Appoints New UK Director of Tourism

The Portuguese National Tourist Office has appointed Miguel Perestrello as its new Director of Tourism in the UK. Mr. Perestrello, 35, is a former cabinet member of the Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism.

He was heavily involved in developing Portugal’s National Strategic Plan for Tourism, a government program implementing a series of initiatives to encourage the sustained growth of national tourism.

Mr. Perestrello will be working closely with the seven regional tourism promotion agencies responsible for promoting Algarve, Lisbon, Madeira, Porto and North of Portugal, Centro, Alentejo and Azores.

In his early career, Mr. Perestrello worked in the youth tourism sector and was responsible for coordinating the expansion of the Portuguese Youth Hostel Tourism Network. He was instrumental in ensuring Portugal’s participation in the International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF) and European Union Federation of Youth Hostel Associations (EUFED).